The Day the Clown Cried Page #2

INT. BISTRO

He comes to a small bistro and walks in ... stands at the

bar.

HELMUT:

Clause ... give me a double whiskey

with beer chaser.

CLAUSE:

(who knows him)

You won't get "Funny"

out of a bottle.

HELMUT:

And you won't make a dime sticking

your nose in other people's business.

Clause pours the whiskey, and places the beer next to it; as

Helmut gulps the drink down and chases it with the beer from

the bottle ... we:

STRAIGHT CUT TO:

INT. THE APARTMENT - NIGHT

Standing at the window looking out is a beautiful WOMAN,

simply dressed, no make-up and clean; she has the look of a

woman who has just bathed and one could almost smell the

fragrance of bath oil on her body. She is tense and

concerned.

She sees something and moves toward the door and opens it.

There is a beat and finally the o.s. SOUNDS of feet

scuffling get to the door. It is Helmut, fairly crocked at

this point.

ADA:

Helmut, darling, are you all right?

HELMUT:

(nastily)

Do I look like I'm not all right?

ADA:

I was so worried about you ...

Your dinner is cold and I couldn't

imagine what happened to you ...

HELMUT:

Were you really worried about me

or your stupid dinner was getting cold?

Ada is hurt by this, but knows something is really chewing

away at him ... and deals with it even more tenderly, which

only digs in deeper on Helmut.

ADA:

Sweetheart, I care about you ...

I love you ... I worry about you ...

I can't help those feelings ...

During the above Helmut is at the small bar in the living

room pouring another "blast" and gulps it down ... he hears

the words but tries to ignore them.

HELMUT:

If there is anything I don't need right

now ... it's your super-sentimentality ...

He flops down in the armchair and stares straight ahead ...

Again, Ada is hurt by his blasting her, but she's wise

enough to know this isn't the man she loves ... she has to

get what's eating him out of there.

ADA:

Helmut ... what's tormenting your soul?

Please let me help you ... talk to me ...

I don't care what it is ... I love you ...

I'm your friend ... you can trust me to

understand ...

HELMUT:

I can't trust anybody ... I don't

know how to trust anybody ...

ADA:

I'm not anybody! I'm your wife!

Helmut, hearing these words, looks up at her and sees the

beauty in her eyes, and he is affected by this. He stands

up and takes her in his arms ... almost breaking her in two.

HELMUT:

I'm sorry, my love ... I'm so sorry ...

You're right! You're not anybody.

You're my wife and I love you, too ...

So very much I just have no one to fight

back at ... I'm lost and alone, I can't

handle the disgrace of failure ... the pain

of being a has-been is more than I can bear ...

Ada knows now what's happened.

ADA:

Schmidt again? Gustav again?

When will you learn they

fear you and they know how

vulnerable you are now ...

if they can beat you down

then they needn't worry about

you coming back to haunt them.

HELMUT:

They worry about me?

Don't be ridiculous ...

they just took the last comic bit

away from me ... because of

a silly accident ... I'm now down

at the bottom, just a stooge

assisting a not-so-funny clown.

ADA:

But they can't take your talent away ...

That's your strongest force!

Walking away from her, getting angry again ...

HELMUT:

What the hell are you talking about?

What talent? And if I had any it's

being suffocated into nothing ...

And that's just what I am now ...

nothing ... No one ... just empty ...

a prop to be used and mis-used ...

how does my great talent

stand up to those odds?

ADA:

By not quitting ... You must fight!

Creative survival is even more

difficult than human survival ...

You must fight!!!

Helmut gets quiet and listens, and it makes sense ... Ada

knows she's got him now.

ADA:

(continuing)

Go to Schmidt ... Force a confrontation ...

Don't let Gustav win ...

make Schmidt see what an injustice

they are imposing on you ...

Please, my love, fight! Make your

world better by fighting for it ...

You can do it ... I know you can ...

Helmut hears it all and it sounds so good and right.

HELMUT:

I will go now and see Schmidt ...

I will tell him I won't take any

more degradation ... I will tell him

I am a "clown" not a stooge ...

A "clown" ... A special person ...

A special clown ...

Ada happily gets his hat.

ADA:

(placing the hat on his head)

Go, my love ... Go and fight for what

you know is right ... I will warm your dinner

and wait for you to come home.

She kisses him, opens the door for him and he goes.

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. THE EMPTY CIRCUS - NIGHT

The low key light and the silence of the circus is almost

ominous and a little frightening for Helmut as he walks

across the empty arena ... with a small light burning from

up high. All the equipment is tied off. Slight ANIMAL

SOUNDS in the deep background ... and the faintest SOUND of

circus music is heard. Helmut is now center of the main

ring and stops and looks around.

HIS POV - THE EMPTY STANDS

CLOSE SHOT - HELMUT

His face tense, then eases as he looks around.

HIS POV:

The stands are full, the lights come up, and the

audience is standing, applauding thunderously!

MED. CLOSE - HELMUT

In his clown outfit bowing and acknowledging the ovation.

HIS POV - THE AUDIENCE

as they stop applauding and sit down.

WIDE SHOT:

Helmut -- the chair and the trombone --

THE TROMBONE PANTOMIME

As the completion of the "Trombone Pantomime" Helmut walks

away from the position he was in with the trombone and bows

and milks the crowd for reactions and as he bows the second

time ... WE SHIMMER:

BACK TO:

CLOSE - HELMUT

In bowing position as he looks at the crowd.

HIS POV - THE EMPTY STANDS

CLOSE - HELMUT

His face shows signs of utter despair and dejection ... the

dream is gone and the memory of what was really hurts deep

down. He looks around making sure he hasn't been noticed by

anyone and takes that deep sigh and strolls towards the back

of the circus tent area on his way to find Schmidt.

WIDE ANGLE:

TRUCK WITH HIM, HOLDING the many empty seats in the b.g. as

he walks ... trying to muster up the courage he's going to

have to call ... something that has now become totally

foreign to him.

HIGH SHOT - THE EMPTY CIRCUS

We see Helmut as the tiny figure he feels like, walking out

of the tent area and into the backstage section.

CUT TO:

BACKSTAGE OFFICE AREA - NIGHT

Helmut enters the section of the circus where Schmidt has

his "Temp" office quarters. It is a tent-like arrangement

with the canvas flap as his door and we see light streaming

from the half open canvas flap.

HIS POV - THE TENT OFFICE

Helmut looks amd sees a shadow of a body moving around in

the tent office area and starts for it.

INT. TENT OFFICE - NIGHT

Schmidt pacing up and down ... thinking, as we PULL BACK to

see Gustav seated in one of the fold-up chairs with a "I am

waiting" look on his face.

SCHMIDT:

Naturally, I agree ... Doork is a nuisance,

but to just let him go seems a little unfair.

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